Amos Oz, shown here in 2015, often blurred the personal and the political in his writing. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Amos Oz would often speak in the kind of tossed-off epigrams that come only with a lot of practice. But just when you wanted to smack him for his breezy erudition, he would redeem himself with a flash of spot-on — and hilarious — self-awareness. In 2011,… Read more »
“On the Basis of Sex” recalls that when Ruth Ginsburg entered Harvard Law School in 1956, she was one of nine women in the class, the sixth ever to accept women. (Jonathan Wenk/Focus Features)
(JTA) — The young attorney seems unsure of herself. As a law professor, she is unaccustomed to appearing in court, so she hesitates at first, unable to begin her summation. But once she gets going, there is no stopping her. It is the climactic scene of “On the Basis… Read more »
Réka Tenki in a scene from ‘Budapest Noir.’ (Pioneer Pictures)
This year’s Tucson International Jewish Film Festival will bring 15 full-length films, one TV show, and three shorts from around the world to local screens. TIJFF is one of the country’s longest-running Jewish film festivals, one of Arizona’s longest running film fests, and one of Tucson’s most popular cultural… Read more »
German journalists Dagmar and Peter Schroeder will hold a discussion after a free screening of Randall Christopher’s ‘The Driver is Red’ animated
short film on Jan. 8.
An exclusive, free screening of the documentary film “The Driver is Red” is set for Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. The award-winning, animated short by Randall Christopher depicts the Mossad raid that brought Adolf Eichmann to justice. It was shown at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and almost… Read more »
Joan-e Rapine, MS, LAC, NCC, a clinical therapist at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, will present “Self-Discovery Through Clay” at the Jan. 13 meeting of CHAI Circle, a support group for women with cancer in the Jewish community. “One of my favorite things about modeling clay is its pliability,… Read more »
Sara Lopez Sara Lopez, a local wife, mother and opera singer, is curating a Jewish women’s performance showcase, by and for women, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. Having an all-female audience “allows women across the spectrum of Jewish practice and belief to participate,”… Read more »
Sam Hoffman’s resoundingly funny debut feature, “Humor Me,” could be marketed thusly: Come for Elliott Gould, stay for Jemaine Clement. The New Zealand actor displays a nimble gift for wit and pathos in this smart, grown-up comedy about mid-career stumbles, aging parents, and intergenerational acceptance. An under-the-radar treat, “Humor… Read more »
International journalists Dagmar and Peter Schroeder will share their experience in addressing hate, discrimination and intolerance Jan. 7 as part of a two-day symposium hosted by the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest. (Courtesy Dagmar and Peter Schroeder)
Anti-Semitism past and present will be the focus of a two-day symposium hosted by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest next month. “Anti-Semitism from the Spanish Inquisition On: Educating for Social Justice,” which will be held Jan. 6-7… Read more »
(JTA) — Novelist Alice Walker said criticism of her endorsement of an anti-Semitic book is meant to silence her advocacy for Palestinians. The author of “The Color Purple” responded on her website Thursday to a controversy aroused by a feature in The New York Times Book Review Sunday, in… Read more »
(Michael Jacobs/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared on The Nosher. What a year — delis opened, delis closed, we talked about rainbow bagels, and reviewed the history of pickles in America. And now it’s time to look ahead to what will be happening in Jewish food for the coming year. Bread is Back For all of you… Read more »
Tim Kalkhof plays a German man who falls in love with a married Israeli man in "The Cakemaker." (Strand Releasing)
LOS ANGELES (JTA)– Israel’s more than half-century courtship to win an Oscar for best foreign-language film will continue past 2019. Since submitting its first entry — and winning its first nomination — for “Sallah” in 1964, Israel has made the short list of top nominees 10 times, without ever… Read more »
The Laemmle theater chain offers a new Christmas option for Jews. (Courtesy of Laemmle.com)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Sick of eating Chinese food and taking in another modern blockbuster on Christmas, while your Christian friends party together with sweets and eggnog? Thanks to the imagination of Greg Laemmle, co-owner of a chain of eight art house cinemas bearing his family name in greater… Read more »
David Shrayer-Petrov outside of the Brookline Booksmith store in November, where he and the translators of "Doctor Levitin" spoke to a crowd. (Courtesy of Maxim Shrayer)
BROOKLINE, Massachusetts (JTA) — The well-worn books that fill the shelves in David Shrayer-Petrov’s living room reveal the remarkable literary life of the influential refusenik, who has left his mark both as a distinguished physician and as an acclaimed writer. Among the volumes are works by literary lights of… Read more »
Alice Walker at the "The Color Purple" Broadway opening night at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York City, Dec. 10, 2015. (Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Alice Walker has come under intense criticism after endorsing a book by anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist David Icke. In an interview with The New York Times Book Review, Walker — who is best known for her book “The Color Purple,” detailing the hardships of African-American women in… Read more »
Sara Lopez Sara Lopez, a local wife, mother and opera singer, is curating a Jewish women’s performance showcase, by and for women, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. Having an all-female audience “allows women across the spectrum of Jewish practice and belief to participate,”… Read more »
<p>(<a href=”http://jta.org”>JTA</a>) — A play opening in London about rising anti-Semitism in Britain has become the target of anti-Semites.</p><p>(<a href=”http://jta.org”>JTA</a>) — A play opening in London about rising anti-Semitism in Britain has become the target of anti-Semites.</p><p>The play, “One Jewish Boy,” by Stephen Laughton, looks at the hatred and… Read more »
Rick Rosenthal is a professional, year-round Santa who also attends Congregation Young Israel of Toco Hills in Atlanta. (Courtesy of Rosenthal)
(JTA) — Just like any other Santa Claus, Santa Rick will spend much of the next couple of weeks sitting children on his knee, asking whether they’ve been good and listening to their Christmas wishes. If it’s a Saturday, he may have slept overnight in the building. And he’ll… Read more »
Rabbi Tzvi Rimler (Chabad Oro Valley)
Chabad Oro Valley will host an “End of Hanukkah” sing-along concert Monday, Dec. 10. Australian-born musician and composer Rabbi Tzvi Rimler, of Noteworthy Live band in Chandler, Arizona, will perform contemporary and old Eastern European Jewish favorites, along with anecdotes and stories. First introduced to the piano at age… Read more »
Barbara Russek’s success with roses took her by surprise.
Even as the menorah shines its brightest these last three nights of Hanukkah, our eight-day Festival of Lights is starting to wind down. Presents have been opened and latkes savored. Hanukkah 5779 will soon become a sweet memory. So, what are your plans for the rest of December? How… Read more »
Roast chicken is a Friday-night staple in Jewish homes. (Ronnie Fein)
There’s no rule that says Jews are required to eat chicken on Shabbat — that is, no rule was ever handed down from a rabbi or written in the Torah. But it is a long-standing practice for many Eastern European Jewish families to serve roast chicken on Friday night.… Read more »
